Berlin Brandenburg CEO: BER is ‘hub-ready’ but point-to-point is its future

Among the European capitals, historically Berlin has had the most unusual, possibly even complicated, relationship with its airports. Berlin’s special status following World War 2 led to a fragmented airport landscape and prevented the city from becoming a major aviation hub. 

Willy Brandt Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER), conceived to replace the three airports that previously served the German capital, had its grand opening in 2020, with the expectation of becoming the nexus between the capital of Europe’s largest economy and the rest of the world. The opening followed a protracted construction process which accumulated notorious delays and cost overruns. 

Six years and a global pandemic later, Berlin Brandenburg Airport is now Germany’s third busiest airport, after Lufthansa’s hubs in Frankfurt (FRA) and Munich (MUC), and is approaching the 30 million passengers per year mark.  

But some shadows remain: long-haul connectivity is still limited, and, in April 2026, Ryanair announced the closure of its base at the airport citing high costs. 

AeroTime traveled to Berlin in September 2026 to hear first-hand from the airport’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Aletta von Massenbach. 

Von Massenbach took over the reins at Berlin Brandenburg Airport in 2021. Prior to that she served for another year as the airport’s CFO and CCO. Before joining Berlin Brandenburg Airport von Massenbach also held several senior posts, including overseas, within Fraport, Germany’s largest airport group. 

“It’s all about getting people and aircraft from point A to point B,” she said at the beginning of the interview. “Therefore, it’s all about traffic. Otherwise, an airport can be a wonderful and beautiful piece of infrastructure, but it’s not so lively!”  

Von Massenbach acknowledged that the airport is still below its theoretical potential, and a great part of this is the fact that some segments of the market have structurally changed since the time it was conceived. 

A changing travel landscape: COVID-19 and tech advancements 

Not only does the airline originally expected to be the airport’s primary carrier, Air Berlin, does not exist anymore, but the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing technological changes have modified travel habits. 

“We still have a gap compared to the traffic the two Berlin airports combined had before the pandemic,” von Massenbach stated, while singling out domestic routes and business traffic as the main culprits.    

Of the airport’s 26 million passengers recorded in 2025, three million were domestic. Yet, this is still a far cry from the 8.6 million domestic travelers handled by the two Berlin airports before 2020 [Tegel and Schönefeld airports, the latter located next to Berlin-Brandenburg airport. A third airport, Tempelhof, closed in 2008 – Ed. Note]. A portion of this traffic has switched to the railways, but the generalization of remote work tools during the pandemic and companies and government organizations implementing stricter short haul travel policies on environmental or financial grounds, have also had an effect. 

“We still have acceptable connectivity to the two German hubs, Frankfurt and Munich, but both are at 50% compared to how it was before,” von Massenbach said. “When we look at European coverage, it is pretty good, but we have also seen a shift compared to how it was before. 

“This is where we see fewer frequencies, especially when it comes to some important business destinations within Europe.”  

Von Massenbach compared this to the situation in the leisure market, in which Berlin is thriving. 

“This is something we see globally. There is a trend towards more leisure travel, and therefore to serve more leisure destinations,” she said.  

Leisure traffic goes both ways. Berlin is consistently ranked number three in Europe for overnight stays with more than 30 million per year, just behind London and Paris. This makes inbound tourism a major contributor to the city’s economy. 

Unlike other major German cities which host a large number of large corporations and industrial activities, Berlin’s economy is tilted towards the public sector and younger, smaller firms, including a significant ecosystem of technology startups. This also impacts the airport’s traffic profile. 

“What these companies need is talent, coming from wherever, and this talent needs to be able to travel,” von Massenbach said. “If those firms want to attract talent to live and work in Berlin, they need to offer the chance to travel back home from time to time to see families and it needs to be affordable.”  

Updating BER 

Berlin Brandeburg was once plagued by construction issues, but these have firmly been left in the past.  

“The airport as a facility is ready,” said von Massenbach. “We have space and we can accommodate much more traffic. So, in this regard, we are in an excellent situation. We have two terminals, the first one opened in 2020 and the second in 2022, and both are super functional.” 

However, von Massenbach did point out that the airport’s long construction period meant that shortly after its inauguration, elements of the terminal were already in need of an update. 

“Terminal One took a little longer than expected to be built, and this meant two things: it was already a bit outdated and a bit expensive,” she said. “We went through all the processes and we introduced new self-service kiosks, expanded the capacity of the immigration area by 50%, and invested in 24 CTEX security control lanes [new generation scanners that allow carry-on bags to be screened much faster – ed. note]. We will upgrade the remaining lanes over the next year, bringing all security controls to 100% CTEX technology 

“This will lead us to reconfigure the whole central security control section in Terminal One and, simultaneously, create nicer commercial areas, larger and with more light,” she added. “What I would put in the headline is that we are bringing Terminal One to the 21st century.”  

In contrast to other major European airports, von Massenbach has the luxury of not needing to worry about capacity at BER for the time being. 

“We have two parallel runways that work independently, and we have enough apron space, as well,” she said. “Therefore, after our latest terminal process upgrades, passenger flows have become much smoother, so we don’t need to add space for queuing. So, capacity is not an issue.” 

What should BER aspire to be? 

When it comes to the long-term plan for Berlin Brandenburg, the possibility of building a third terminal is being considered, but this seems quite far off. 

“When we look at the German airport map, we have the two hubs, the Lufthansa hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, and then we have point-to-point airports,” von Massenbach said. “For me, being number one of the point-to-point airports, I’d say it’s an excellent situation.”  

“Will we become a hub? The airport is hub-ready, because we have all the infrastructure, but if you don’t have an airline using it as a hub, even if you say to yourself, ‘I’m a wonderful hub’, you won’t be one,” she added. “We need an airline for that.”  

“It’s clear Lufthansa will not use any other airport in Germany other than the two I mentioned [Frankfurt and Munich] because it doesn’t make economic sense for their business model,” she continued. “But, if you look after Frankfurt and Munich, we are number one. I think the point-to-point model provides excellent opportunities for us.” 

She added: “It’s clear that we have people getting to Berlin because they want to be in Berlin, or they fly out of Berlin because they want to, not just flying over Berlin. So, where we see growth in the future is point-to-point. The carriers growing in Europe are point-to-point. So, therefore, to be a point-to-point airport provides very good opportunities. You need to be point-to-point ready.” 

Von Massenbach expressed the need to be fast, efficient, and reliable.  

“Turnaround times are everything for the airlines,” she said. “And we need to be affordable. This is something we put high on our agenda because 70% of our traffic is point-to-point.” 

The Ryanair costs controversy 

In April 2026, low-cost carrier Ryanair announced it was closing its Berlin base citing cost increases and what it deemed to be an uncooperative attitude on the side of the airport.  

While the airport boss dismissed that charges that depend on the airport alone had been increased, she was critical about the general regulatory and tax regime which German airports are subject to. 

“I’d use different wording, but we completely agree with the principal statement that the aviation tax and the regulatory cost in Germany are too high,” she said. “All airports in Germany are saying that, as do all the airlines in Germany. It’s exactly the same message we convey to politicians because it’s something that they need to address. If you take the regulatory cost, including tax, it has doubled compared to 2019.” 

Von Massenbach also criticized how the air travel sector was treated during the initial critical months of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“They did things that surprised me. You have a crisis in an industry that you need, because otherwise you would not get any cargo, masks, etc. and what do you do? You increase taxes at exactly that moment, and you increase the overall regulatory cost, and all the burden of COVID is put on the industry, everything,” she said. “Other governments in Europe and the world took different decisions.”  

When it comes to Ryanair’s claims, von Massenbach insisted that charges that depend exclusively on the airport had not been increased. 

“They know that there is no increase in airport charges,” she said. “They know exactly that operational efficiency is excellent in Berlin.  

But von Massenbach also said she could “see the frustration” because Ryanair can see that “lots of people will lose connectivity”.  

“They will lose an affordable opportunity to get from point A to point B, and this frustration I understand,” she added. 

“Even if we said, ‘Ryanair flies for free’, and waived our airport charges, we would still be as expensive as any airport in Spain, simply because of the taxes and state-imposed fees we face as a German airport,” she continued. “This, I think, contrasts with the user paid principal and it’s against everything that the European Union puts as a framework for airport charges.”  

However, von Massenbach acknowledged that Berlin is, in relative terms, not a low-cost airport, something she attributed to the characteristics of the infrastructure, which has a scale and base cost level that cannot be compared to smaller, regional airports. 

“What we did, and I think this is an amazing effort, and I would say Ryanair knows it, is that we kept our charges basically stable since the opening in 2020,” she said. “This is a tremendous effort if you think about inflation, energy prices, etc. 

“Of course, there are cheaper airports in Germany, but they are not comparable in terms of infrastructure.” 

Ryanair’s concerns were not shared by other carriers, von Massenbach said, specifically naming two airlines, Eurowings and Wizz Air, which have seen growth in Berlin. 

“There is an ongoing discussion with these and all other airlines. This has been very productive and has produced very good results. Not all point-to-point carriers or low-cost carriers, whatever we want to call them, say the airport is too expensive. That’s not the message we get from the market,” she explained. “They understand what we do, and they understand how they can include Berlin into their network and make money.” 

Emirates and the long-haul market 

One segment in which Berlin has much scope to grow is the long-haul. Both Eurowings and Condor have been adding capacity from Berlin to places like the Gulf, where they both fly with narrowbody aircraft.  

“In 2025, we have [seen] a growth of 44% into that region [the Middle East], and we all hope that the current situation with the war does not affect these destinations much longer,” von Massenbach said. 

Our visit to Berlin coincided with the news that, after more than 20 years of negotiations, Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reached an agreement allowing airlines from that country fly to additional points in Germany, including Berlin. 

“We have not been part of the negotiation because it’s state-to-state. But obviously, we are in constant dialog with Emirates, and they have not yet detailed their plans,” explained von Massenbach. “They just said they need to analyze it. I expect the analysis will be done pretty soon and then we will get concrete plans. Originally, they planned to launch the flight in December 2026, so we still need to get the confirmation that this will happen.”  

She continued: “When it comes to connectivity, a lot of flights go, in our case, via Istanbul and Doha. Qatar Airways flies here three times a day, 21 frequencies a week. So that’s a very strong backbone of connectivity to everything to the East and to Africa and it’s pretty similar with Istanbul.  

“We also have direct connectivity with Hainan Airlines to Beijing (PEK) and to the North America with United Airlines, to Newark (EWR), Delta Air Lines to New York, Air Transat to and Toronto (YYZ), and Air Canada to Montreal (YUL). The last three of these are seasonal.” 

The arrival of the Airbus A321XLR, an aircraft designed for thin long-haul markets, has also raised hopes in Berlin.  

“Air Canada comes here with the [Airbus A321]XLR and this is exactly the right aircraft for a market like Berlin,” von Massenbach said. “We are very proud and very happy that they sent their first XLR over the ocean directly to Berlin. And we are very confident that they will extend the season next year.”  

The Berlin destination wish list 

But what about von Massenbach’s personal destination wish list? While the airport boss revealed little, she did mention the markets she considered to be underserved from Berlin. 

“The German airlines focus on their hubs, so for long-haul, we rely on foreign carriers. And that limits the number of airlines that could serve BER. Take Bangkok: we have everything in this catchment to fill a flight, and still, nobody picks it up. There are several reasons for that. Airlines have so many options, they can fly anywhere, so they go where they see their priorities.” 

This was also the case for Norse Atlantic Airways, which tested a nonstop service to Los Angeles (LAX), a destination that, von Massenbach explained, is at the top list of the destinations not served by the airport. The route did not stick because the returns were not high enough for the airline. 

“It’s such a long route, you need a lot of kerosene and when it comes to a low-cost, long-haul product you need to differentiate by price. It’s the only option you have,” she explained. “I cherish airlines testing it. And then, if you fly to Los Angeles, it’s an end point.”  

Lounge investments 

Another global trend where von Massenbach sees opportunities for further growth is premium travel, even when it comes to leisure passengers. 

“We see what customers want and what they need, and this is premiumization,” she said. “They are looking for it on their flight. When it comes down to products like premium economy, and when it comes to the airport, they are really looking for it. It’s not only business class passengers, but it’s also other passengers that seek this kind of premium service at an airport, and this is something we are obviously happy to accommodate.”  

Berlin Brandenburg manages two of the airport’s lounges. Lufthansa also has two lounges of its own, which serve its passengers and those traveling with Star Alliance carriers. But von Massenbach did not rule out new openings. 

“This is working well, and so we are thinking about ways to expand capacity at the lounges. It’s important from a financial perspective for the airport,” she said. “However, you also need to find a good balance because if passengers pay X amount of euros for lounge access directly over the airline, that’s X amount of euros you get there, and then what do you lose because they are not going to drink a coffee and maybe they are not shopping enough and you need to look at it all together.” 

What’s next for BER? 

When it comes to the future of the airport, von Massenbach outlined four major lines of action. 

“The first is connectivity,” she said. “We will do everything to keep our charges affordable for the airlines serving our airport, and we are looking for new destinations. We are working with both point-to-point and full-service carriers.” 

“Then we have operational excellence and performance. For that, we use lots of technology, also to support airlines to turn around the aircraft as fast as possible and to bring them back to the sky as planned.” 

“Thirdly, we have the financial situation,” she continued. “We have a bit of a legacy with this, because of the long and expensive construction process. So, now we are standing on our own legs, we got a loan from the bank, and were able to refinance the construction cost of the airport. This is something that we need to keep focusing on in the future, because the financial situation is still not ideal. But we have a clear plan for this. 

“And, finally, we have everything related to sustainability. We brought solar energy to the airport, providing renewable electricity. We have already made progress decarbonizing cooling, and the majority of our heating will follow soon.”  

City politics 

We concluded the conversation by talking briefly about the political situation in Berlin, as the city was facing an important election just days after this interview, which resulted in the victory of a left-wing coalition. Since the city of Berlin is one of the airport’s major shareholders, with 37.5% of its shares, what does von Massenbach think about the potential effects of this political change? 

The airport executive noted that it will be the fourth Berlin government since her appointment. “They had different colors, different announcements and when it came to aviation, we worked well with all of these governments, and we kept on developing our airport,” she said. “So, I’m not nervous about it.”  The post Berlin Brandenburg CEO: BER is ‘hub-ready’ but point-to-point is its future appeared first on AeroTime.

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